Mysterious Visitors and Boyfriend Stealers
by juliafan
Summary: A mysterious visitor appears on the Grays' doorstep. Maxine knows who she is but hides this from Amy. Will Amy uncover the truth? CHAPTER 4 IS UP! Finished?
1. Visitor

Mysterious Visitors and Boyfriend Stealers  
  
Chapter 1: Mornings on Marigold St.  
  
Beep beep. Beep beep. The alarm set for 6:30 goes off. A hand emerges to turn it off. The owner of the hand throws off the covers, undressing its body as it gets up and throws itself into the shower. A blare of 50 Cent is heard in a nearby room, getting louder every second. Angry shouts from yet another room leads to a decrease in the volume. It is morning in the Gray house. The girls have gotten up to ready for work and school, yet the guys are still sleepy-eyed from late night partying.  
The Grays' house sits on quiet Marigold Street in the residential section of Hartford, Connecticut. Few cars and pedestrians thrive in the early mornings. Most that were were walking dogs, wishing that they, too, were still in bed. So, you can see how it'd be strange to see a woman walking down Marigold Street at this hour, carrying a couple of suitcases and not a dog in sight. And how it was even stranger to see the woman walking up the Grays' sidewalk and heading for the door. She hesitates for a moment, and her hand pauses in midair, but them she gives a swift, firm knock.  
At once, the Gray household comes alive. Shouts of "I'll get it!" were heard as everyone thundered down the stairs, still in robes and other nighttime attire. Lauren reached the door first, thinking that Victor must be early. After she gropes the knob and opens the door, her eyes get as round as saucers, and she slams the door in the woman's face. "Mom?!?" Lauren forces herself to ask.  
"Yeah, I'm here," Amy calls, and a minute later, she is standing beside her daughter. "What do you need?"  
"How...did...you...do...that?" Lauren stutters out, "weren't you just....outside?"  
"Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed? You saw me come in last night. I've never been outside since."  
"Sure, Mom, I know you were at David's house. As if Victor and I don't know what you two do."  
"He's Mr. McClaren to you, young lady. And anyway, he's not here. David took Victor to see his aunt and won't be back until later."  
"WHAT?!? Victor isn't here? But he didn't say anything!" whined Lauren as another knock was heard. Amy, this time, opens the door, but unlike Lauren, does not slam it when she sees the woman who knocked. Seeing that she did not recognize this woman, she says hello and asks if she can help her.  
"I'm looking for Maxine Gray...does she live here?" the woman responded.  
"Yeah, Maxine's my mother," Amy informed, "MOM!!!"  
"Amy, dear, I'm only in the kitchen," chided Maxine. As soon as she saw who was at the door, her face went white with shock.  
"Grandma, are you okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost," Lauren asked Maxine.  
"Oh, oh, I-I'm o-o-okay," she finally got out, and turning to the stranger, said, "So, you're looking for me? Well, come in," as cheerfully and nonchalantly as possible. The strange woman stepped in and introduced herself.  
"I'm Nikki Harrison...I just moved to Hartford because I got transferred to criminal court here..." Before she could continue, Amy cut in.  
"Oh, I know you! You're that new judge-Judge Harrison. Nice to meet you," Amy shook Nikki's hand, "I'm Judge Gray—Judge Amy Gray. I do juvenile," interrupted Amy, "So, how do you know my mother?"  
"Oh, she's a judge on one of my cases. I just told her to drop by so I could fill her in," Maxine made up.  
"Mom!! You can't do that! That's why you have case files," Amy said, shocked at her one mother for not remembering this.  
"Actually, I needed a place to stay, and your mother kindly offered. I wouldn't have come so early, but I could only get an early flight from L.A.," Nikki explained, "So, can I stay? Because I don't want to intrude...."  
"You're not intruding. You can have my room until the attic room is finished," Maxine offered.  
"Where will you sleep, Grandma?" quipped Lauren.  
"With Amy or at Ignacio's," replied Maxine to her granddaughter.  
"Mom!" Amy whined.  
"You can live for a few days without the intimate company of David McClaren," Maxine said absentmindedly.  
"Mom!" Amy almost yelled. "Nikki, come on upstairs and get ready for your first day of work," she said, linking arms with her and pulling Lauren along. 


	2. First Day

----Chapter 2: First Day  
  
"Here we are," Amy announced, as she pulled up in her reserved parking space at the courthouse. "Ready for a tour?" she asked Nikki, as they both got out.  
"Ready as I'll ever be."  
"Good morning, Amy," a familiar voice came up behind them. "Who's your friend?"  
It was Donna. "Donna, this is Nikki Harrison," Amy introduced them. Nikki and Donna briefly exchanged glances and hellos before Donna began her usual gossip. This time, however, gossip included Amy, so Donna quickly jumped right in.  
"So, how's the boyfriend?"  
"What have you heard?"  
"Just that David faked the murder of his wife to get over his heartbreak of their divorce."  
"And who spread it?"  
"Don't even go there, Judge Gray. I would never spread a rumor about you or anyone affiliated with you. Not unless you asked me to."  
"Uh-huh, sure."  
"Well, everyone knows the rumor. See for yourself." They had just entered "Gossip Central," the cafeteria. Sure enough, all Amy, Donna, and Nikki heard was talk of David. That is, until they saw Amy come in. Spotting Bruce, she hightailed over to the table he had waiting for them. He seemed surprised to see Nikki in David's place.  
"Is it safe to say that you are cheating on McClaren, Amy? With another woman?"  
"Yeah. No, really, this is Nikki Harrison, the new judge for criminal court. She's staying with us."  
"Oh, really.....nice to meet you, Nikki. Anyway, so, Amy, did you hear the news? McClaren's gone and faked his wife's murder."  
"Yeah, Donna beat you to it."  
"So, where is McClaren, anyway?"  
"He's taken Victor over to his aunt's for the weekend and will come later." Downing the rest of her coffee, Amy finally noticed Nikki. "Hey, come on, Nik, tour time."  
"Nice to meet you guys," Nikki called as Amy pulled her to the hallway.  
  
Amy had just finished giving Nikki the basic run around and shown Nikki to her office when Abner made his presence known. "Hello, Judge Gray," he said in that mocking tone of his, "I'm surprised to see you. David's taken the morning off. I thought you'd be a no-show, too."  
"Not everything involving David has me in it. He's taken his son to see his aunt."  
"Oh, really," nodding to Nikki, "I'll take over now. After all, she does work for me."  
Amy took this as a sign to leave the room. She knew that today's docket involved several cases and that she must get a move on. "See you later, Nikki.....Abner."  
"Bye, Judge Gray, say hi to McClaren, and tell him to stop by work occasionally. We really miss him," Abner added snidely.  
Amy ignored the comment. Lately, more and more coworkers and colleagues were making rude jokes about them being together all the time. But, she couldn't help it. She loved him. Some force was pulling them together. And, she had a feeling that he loved her, too.  
  
While Amy was off in her own courtroom, Nikki, on the other hand, had gotten her robe on and was standing just outside of the her courtroom. She must have looked nervous, because Abner reassured her, before pushing her into the door. "All rise, court is now is session. Judge Gr---Harrison presiding."  
"Thank you," Nikki said as she sat down, motioning for everyone to follow her. Looking up, she saw only one lawyer, instead of two. "Where is the state's attorney?"  
"He called from the road. Traffic, most likely." At the very moment, none other than David McClaren entered the court.  
"Excuse me, Your Honor,....traffic was horrible today. I....." he said, without looking up.  
"Yes, the CSO informed me already of your absence. Sit down, so we can begin."  
He looked up, shocked. Amy subbing in criminal court today? Wouldn't she have told him? "Yes, Your Honor."


	3. Another Side of Amy Gray

Mysterious Visitors and Boyfriend Stealers

Chapter 3: Another Side of Amy Gray

"Case dismissed," Nikki wrapped the case for the day. She stood up, stretching, about to leave the room, when the state's attorney came up to her.

"Hey, babe," David greeted whom he thought was Amy. "Lunch?"

"Sorry, I can't. I promised a friend."

"Friend? Since when do you have friends? Anyway, how about Friday night at 7:30?"

Nikki thought this over for awhile. "I could go for it, but I don't even know him....but he's cute." She finally decided that it wouldn't hurt going on one small dinner date. "Okay, sure," she told him. Then, saying goodbye, she walked to her office to review the docket.

The real Amy Gray sat at her desk, reading page after page of court files, in between breaks of coffee. Several coffee cups filled the trash can already. There was a knock on the door startling her. She looked up, and guess who was at the door? David. "Hey, hon," she smiled at him, as she stood up. She could read from his face that it was lunch time. "Lunch with you? Sorry, I can't."

"Wow, you can read my mind? Okay, what did I do?"

"Nothing, I just have lunch with a friend. I'd tell you, but it's kind of personal right now."

"Oh, right, you told me. Let me go, before I make another ass of myself." He left, without even giving her a kiss.

"What?" Amy thought. I didn't tell him anything about lunch until now. This was the first time I saw him. "Oh, wait.....David doesn't know about Nikki! Perhaps he ran into her. Amy scooted out from behind her desk, calling David's name. Peeking out in the hall, she noticed that it was completely empty. "Darn, missed him. I guess I can tell him later. Oh well, I can at least tell Nikki. It's lunch time anyway."

Amy walked briskly down the hall, turned a few corners, and was there in front of the new judge's office in what seemed like a flash. She knocked, heard Nikki's "Come in" and opened the door a crack. "Hey, it's me. Ready for lunch?"

"Hey......yeah, just a minute." Nikki gathered up a few of the papers she had been reading, stacked them on her desk, and went in search of her purse.

"What're you looking for?"

"Nothing," Nikki lied. When she couldn't find it, she gave up and told Amy, "My purse. I can't find it. I may sound like a total klutz....," she stopped in mid sentence. Amy held up the purse. "Thanks, Amy," she said, grabbing the purse, "now I'm ready."

"Okay."

"So, where are we going?"

"Ummm.....how about Italian? Cause there's this place down the street that my boyfriend and I love. They serve excellent spaghetti, alfredo, whatever."

"Great. So, who's the lucky guy....if I'm allowed to ask?"

"David McClaren. He's a state's attorney. You might see him around....,"Amy pauses in mid sentence, noticing the weird look on Nikki's face, "you didn't meet him yet, did you?"

"I think I kinda did. He's on a case with me. And....he sort of...hit...on....me."

"Oh my god."

"I think he thought I was you because he asked me to dinner on Friday."

"David, David, David......what am I gonna do with you? I was going to tell him, but I haven't seen him since a few minutes ago."

"Well, you still have the date."

"No, not really. I'm busy Friday. And, David should know that. Every Friday, my family gets together for dinner. I could blow it off, but my brother, Vincent, is home for a visit. We're really close, so I really want to go. But, I want you to go out with David, anyway."

"Why?"

"Because, obviously, it'll play a trick on him.....kinda funny. We share physical similarities, and David doesn't know that we're two people."

"Isn't that kind of childish?"

"Well, yeah, but it's fun."

"I can go along with that." With that, Amy and Nikki high five, walking arm in arm to lunch.


	4. The Cat Is Out of the Bag

Mysterious Visitors and Boyfriend Stealers

Chapter 4: The Cat Is Out of the Bag

Friday night arrived quicker than usual for Amy. Maybe that was because of the fun she was actually having for a change! Amy soon found herself at home in her bedroom, helping Nikki get changed for "Amy's" date with David. The girls were having trouble choosing an outfit from Amy's closet, and after debating whether to recruit Maxine's or Lauren's help, they decided not to. The doorbell rang as soon as they had picked out a sleek black dress for Nikki. Amy called down the stairs, "Just a minute!", but Maxine had already opened the door that revealed David in a suit holding a bouquet of daisies. Amy quickly applied Nikki's makeup, wished her good luck, and pushed her down the stairs. Luckily, Maxine did not notice the switch, and Nikki and David were out the door before Amy knew it. She sat there at the window, watching David open the door for what was supposed to be Amy, and couldn't help feeling a twinge of jealousy.

Amy had the urge to go downstairs and snuggle with Maxine, but she wondered whether she could pull off acting as Nikki for a change. Maxine hadn't taken heed to Nikki since she arrived, or so Amy thought. Maybe that was her mom's way of hiding something that she knew about Nikki. Amy was determined to get this out of her mother, and suddenly, she had a plan!

Amy sat down, pulled out a law book, and began to read. She kept checking her watch for the time. Guessing that David and Nikki would have gotten to David's favorite French restaurant by eight, she would call Maxine at around eight-fifteen by cell phone, saying that she forgot something important and that it was necessary for Maxine to go to the restaurant. Maxine would go, somehow, and once there, would notice that Amy was not Amy at all and was Nikki. By her weird expression, David would hopefully get the impression that something was up and ask. Maxine would take some begging, but she would finally reveal her secret. Then, David, Nikki, and Maxine would all come home to Amy. She hoped that there wouldn't be too much yelling at her involved!

It was eight ten, and by now, Amy was extremely nervous. She had not done anything like this since her teenage years, and so she had lost the touch. Amy could hear Maxine in the kitchen, making dinner. Quietly, Amy grabbed her keys and cell, quickly went downstairs and made it to her car safely. She pulled out of the driveway and drove to the parking lot of the nearby grocery store. From there, she dialed the home number. It rung twice before Lauren answered, "Taylor? Is that you?"

"No, it's Mom. Listen, I…." Amy was cut off.

"Mom? Aren't you on a date?"

"Yeah, but I forgot something, so I need you to hand the phone to Grandma."

"Uh, Mom, I'm kind of busy in my room, and Grandma's in the kitchen. Getting her would, like, be a major problem for me."

"Uh, Lauren, is getting up and walking, like, a major problem?"

Ugh, hold on," there was a sigh of impatience in Lauren's voice as she yelled, "Grandma!" so close to the receiver that Amy thought her eardrums would burst.

"Lauren dear, please don't yell at me from your room," Amy heard Maxine reprimanding. Finally, she picked up the phone. "Hello?"  
"Mom?"

"Amy? Aren't you on a date? Is everything okay? Are you okay? Is David okay?"

"I'm okay! Look, Mom, we need your help."

"What?"

"Uh, David forgot his credit card, and I—I didn't bring mine with me. David always tells me not to. Can you please bring yours down?"

"AMY MADISON GRAY! What will I do with you? I'm cooking dinner, and Ignacio will be over shortly."

"Please, mom…..it's important," Amy begged.

"Hold on, I'll be right there. You better be glad I'm a nice mom."

"I love you, Mom. You're the best mother in the world."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, stop sweet talking me."

Amy hung up the phone and drove so that she was in viewing distance of the restaurant, but that she couldn't be seen by Maxine. Soon enough, Maxine strode through the doors of the building with what looked like a look of disgust. Amy knew that she was in for it later, so she drove over to Gillian and Peter's to hide out. Gillian welcomed her in, and thankfully, Peter wasn't home. If she didn't know better, Peter would rat out on her….as he did when they were teenagers. Gillian said that she could share dinner with her, as long as she helped Ned with his, as she was attending to Walt's. Amy was okay with that; at least she had gotten out of the house for a few hours.

Back at the restaurant, anyone paying attention saw Maxine walking toward David and Nikki's table. How could they not? Thankfully, only David was there. A menu was hiding his view of anything, so Maxine sat down in Nikki's empty chair without David knowing. Obviously, he thought it was "Amy" coming back from the restroom. He started talking. "Amy, have you decided what you want yet? I think I'm having the classic steak-frites." He looked up. "Maxine," said a surprised David, "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, Amy called saying that you'd forgotten your credit card and practically begged me to come down here and give you mine."

"Oh, right….I said nothing of the sort to her, Maxine. But, come to think of it, Amy's been acting differently since I picked her up. I assumed, well, you get the idea."

"Oh, really, maybe that's why she's acting so much like Lauren now," With that Maxine shrugged and started rising from the table.

"Maxine, since you took the trouble to come down here, why don't you join us?"

"Uh, no thanks, Amy interrupted me from preparing dinner for my date with Ignacio."

"I'm sorry, Maxine. I'll let you get back then." Nikki came back to the table just as Maxine was getting up.

"Maxine-I mean, Mom, nice to you see you," Nikki faltered out.

"Nikki? W-Why are you here?"

"Uh…David invited me."

"Okay, someone's going to have to explain to me what's going on. I invited Amy to dinner," David said, confused.

"David, to be frank, no you didn't. You invited whom you thought was Amy, and perhaps Amy and her twin did not tell bother to tell you otherwise."

"Twin?"

"Yes, David, Amy is a twin. Yes, I had twin girls whom I named Amy Madison and Nikki Marie. However, I just couldn't bring myself to raise twins AND a toddler at once. So, I made sure that Nikki was in a loving home and kept me even having twins a secret for all of these years. Nobody but my husband knew. Peter, Amy, and Vincent still don't know. They assumed Nikki was someone I placed in foster care years ago, someone unrelated to them.

"Okay, I knew Amy wasn't acting herself. Nice to meet you, Nikki." He nods toward her. "But just because I asked you out doesn't mean I'm asking you out again. I still love Amy, even though she didn't tell me she had a look-alike."

Nikki smiles, before saying, "Well, at least I can actually call my true mother Mom now." She helps Maxine up to give her a hug.

"Okay, I am going home. You two can finish dinner, and it'll be on me. Meanwhile, I think I'm going home to murder my other daughter."

"No, let me, Maxine," David smiles.

"Oh give it up, David. You'll do more than murder her…..don't think that I don't know what you two are up to. I'll see you later." Maxine walks out and starts to drive home.

"Excuse me, Nikki, if you don't mind, I'd like to rescue our damsel-in-distress before she is murdered by the witch….even if she did play a horrible joke on us," David walks out, forgetting Nikki has no mode of transportation.

Nikki realizes this and begins to call David back, but doesn't end up stopping him. She smiles and begins to order that steak-frites for herself.

Maxine pulls into the driveway in a pretend state of anger. Inside, she's rather amused, but once inside the house, she yells out Amy's full name anyway. It is obvious to Maxine that Amy is not at home, but even if she was, she couldn't have heard over the usual large blast of rock music that came from Lauren's room. "Lauren! Lauren!" Maxine yells, rushing up the stairs.

Lauren opens her door a crack and is surprised to see her grandmother and not her mother. "Grandma?"

"Do you know where your mother is?"

"On her date, I guess. Why?"

"No, Lauren, she was not on her date. She was—oh never mind, go back to your music."

"Fine, whatever," Lauren gives her adults-are-so-clueless look.

"Lauren! Don't you give that look at me, or I'll smack you one like I did your mother and uncles back when they were twelve."

"You can't spank me!" And, with that, Lauren slams the door, and turns up the music even louder.

After helping Gillian with the dishes and putting the kids to bed, Amy decides to go back to the restaurant and see if her mother, David, or Nikki was still there. She figured that Nikki was there, as Maxine and David would've rushed off without giving Nikki a ride. And sure enough, Nikki was enjoying dinner alone. Amy went up to the table and sat in the empty chair. "Hey."

"Hey," Nikki said, and for awhile Nikki ate in silence while Amy just looked around, trying not to stare at Nikki.

"So, what happened at dinner? I mean, apart from Mom showing up with her credit card, and then Mom and David leaving."

"Well, Mom spilled her secret."

"Mom?"

"Oh, you don't know. Uh, Amy, I'm your twin."

"My what?"

"Twin. Mom had twins, and because she didn't want to raise us and Peter, she put me in foster care. I always knew about her though, and I even sent her letters sometimes. She never told anyone about having twins, though. I hoped she would someday, because I wanted to know my sister."

"Sister. Gosh, that word sounds so strange to me. It's always been Peter and Vincent against me. Wait until they hear they have two sisters instead of one."

"So, you'll accept me?"

"What? I've always liked you, Nikki. That's why I trusted you to go out on a date with my boyfriend….if he's still my boyfriend, that is."

"Yeah, he definitely is. He made it a point to say that he loves you, not me."

"Guess we'd better be heading back. Are you done with dinner?"

"Yeah, but aren't you hungry?"

"Nah, I stopped by Gillian's to hide out and had dinner with her and the kids. Oh, Nikki, don't pay for your food, I'll pay. I feel bad anyway."

"Actually, the card's your-I mean our mom's."

"Oh, okay then. Let her pay." They laughed together, and after Nikki got the receipt, she and Amy got up and walked arm in arm, out of the restaurant as sisters.

David and Maxine were sitting on the den's couch trying to watch TV over Lauren's music when Amy and Nikki walked in. Nikki walked in first, and then, Amy. They squeezed in beside David and Maxine…..naturally Amy sat beside David. David and Maxine didn't say anything, but put their arms around Amy and Nikki. David looked relieved to see Amy and gave her a nice, long kiss which confirmed to Amy that he was not angry. Maxine simply murmured, as she thought, to herself, "My girls….together at last," but as Nikki and Amy heard her, they just turned and smiled at their mother. Now all they had to do was to tell the rest of the family….

THE END

(But still the beginning….)


End file.
